On a Friday night, dressed to impress, Sherry Westbrook gets stood up. She could go home, but why waste a new outfit and well-done hair? She decides to dine alone, but then her boss shows up, and now she doesn’t have to.

Alex Barraza takes the place of Sherry’s date, and at the end of dinner, they spend the night together—bringing to life a fantasy that has played out in his mind over the past two years. One night together isn’t enough, and before long they embark on a secret affair that takes them both by surprise. But Alex hasn’t been completely honest with Sherry, and when she finds out the truth, he knows he’ll lose her. So instead of the truth, he stays silent. Because now he’s in too deep, and he can’t let her go.

EXCERPT

“If you ladies are finished talking about your dating life, maybe we can get back to work now?” Alex stood in the doorway.

How long had he been standing there? How much had he heard?

“Excuse me. Off to lunch,” Gina murmured. She slid past Alex, who shut the door with a firm flick of the wrist. Agitation rolled off him.

Sherry ignored his foul mood and the way her skin prickled with him in the room. “I printed out the copies of all of the accounts, as you requested.” Her eyes followed him as he came toward her, using the same smooth, confident walk he always did.

“This is everything?” Alex frowned at the sheets of paper. Using his thumb, he fanned through the pages. Sherry’s eyes focused on his big hands, which had palmed her bottom and squeezed her breasts, and that broad thumb that she’d sucked on Friday night.

She shivered with lust. “Yes, that’s everything,” she said in a low tone.

Alex thumbed the pages again, keeping his gaze downcast. “I thought you’d wait a while before you jumped back into dating again.”

“Why would I do that?”

His gaze lifted to hers, and from the light coming through the window, she saw the flecks of brown and green that fought for dominance in his eyes.

“Don’t.” The word seemed to be torn out of him.

“Don’t what?”

Alex fully faced her, eyes blazing with some emotion. “Don’t do it.”

Energy vibrated in the room. He clearly wanted to say more, but held back.

“You have no right to tell me what to do, Alex.”

“You think I don’t know that?”

“You said—”

“I damn well know what I said.” One hand fisted at his side. “Believe me. I think about it every day that we’re together, when we’re not together, when you look at me, when you breathe in my direction. I think about the fact that I can’t touch you. That I created the rules. Rules that I’m finding very difficult to live by.”

Every word he spoke was a reminder of what she felt toward him—a powerful attraction that had only grown more intense since they’d slept together. If they hadn’t slept together, being near him would not be so untenable, but every time he moved, she wanted to reach for him. Every time he spoke, she ached to hear his voice, husky and low in her ear, whispering in a seductive mixture of English and Spanish.

He walked by her, and Sherry remained in the same spot, motionless. She pressed a hand to her stomach. The need for him had become a physical pain, and hearing him speak so openly about his desire made her want to speak her mind.